The orexins (hypocretins) comprise two neuropeptides produced in the hypothalamus: orexin A (OX-A) (a 33 amino acid peptide) and orexin B (OX-B) (a 28 amino acid peptide) (Sakurai T. et al., Cell, 1998, 92:573-585). Orexins are found to stimulate food consumption in rats suggesting a physiological role for these peptides as mediators in the central feedback mechanism that regulates feeding behavior (Sakurai T. et al., 1998, supra). Orexins regulate states of sleep and wakefulness opening potentially novel therapeutic approaches for narcoleptic or insomniac patients (Chemelli R. M. et al., Cell, 1999, 98:437-451). Orexins have also been indicated as playing a role in arousal, reward, learning and memory (Harris, et al., Trends Neurosci., 2006, 29:571-577). Two orexin receptors have been cloned and characterized in mammals. They belong to the super family of G-protein coupled receptors (Sakurai T. et al., Cell, 1998, supra): the orexin-1 receptor (OX1 or OX1R) is selective for OX-A, and the orexin-2 receptor (OX2 or OX2R) is capable of binding OX-A as well as OX-B. The physiological actions in which orexins are presumed to participate are thought to be expressed via one or both of the OX1 receptor and the OX2 receptor as the two subtypes of orexin receptors.